


Portrait

by softyooh



Category: Dreamcatcher (Korea Band)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-17
Updated: 2019-07-17
Packaged: 2020-06-30 03:59:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19845118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/softyooh/pseuds/softyooh
Summary: Bora is Handong's subject for her final assignment. But purple and orange don't go well together, right?premise: sad&gay!bora + artist&dense!handong





	Portrait

“Dong Dong…”

“Don’t move.”

“But,” Bora groaned. Her back was starting to ache and her migraine was not making it any easier for her to keep still. “I’ve been sitting here for an hour now, I need to stretch.” She straightened her back a little more, to look pass the canvas that was in front of the focused artist. “Please?”

The pencil was lifted off the canvas, its tip had left graphite on its surface. “Five minutes.” 

Giving a silent celebratory fistpump into the air, Bora jumped off her seat, stretching. When she twisted her waist, bones cracking resounded throughout the art room. 

“How is it coming along?” Bora hopped to her friend’s side, peeking at the canvas. Her jaw dropped in awe. 

“Dong Dong, this is amazing! You’ll definitely get full marks for your assignment.” The energetic small girl nudged the artist by her arm. Despite the portrait of Bora being incomplete, still in its beginning stages of sketching, the artist had already managed to capture the essence of Bora’s beauty, from her long luxurious hair to her sharp side profile. 

But Handong only shook her head, her brows creasing. She was not satisfied. 

“I still have a long way to go.”

“Really?” Bora tilted her head to a side to take another look at the portrait. “I think you drew me really well, heck, you made me prettier than I really am.”

“It’s…” Handong’s pencil lingered on the portrait’s lips for a long while. “Still lacking.”

Bora’s fingers felt her own lips, and she pouted. “Geez, Dong Dong, you’re such a perfectionist.”

Then she continued stretching her aching shoulders. 

“Sit.” Handong dragged a chair beside hers, motioning the smaller girl to the chair. Without any hesitation, Bora followed her classmate’s instructions and relaxed when she felt firm hands massaging her tense shoulder blades. 

“You really do have golden hands,” Bora closed her eyes, enjoying the sensation spreading throughout her aching body. 

She heard a soft laugh from Handong. “The last time I checked, I’m certain I have human hands.”

The massage continued on for another few minutes, until the older girl had a question for the artist.

“Dong Dong, what do you think of girls?”

“Pardon?” Handong’s hands stopped in its motion, staying on Bora’s shoulder, frozen. “No, wait, why the question?”

“I’m not sure,” Bora swung her legs off the ground as her hands gripped onto the chair, between her legs. “You only ever draw female portraits.”

“Maybe,” Handong hummed, her hands sliding down from Bora’s shoulders to her waist. She felt Bora’s curves and her breathing. “Maybe it’s because I only draw what I’m familiar with.”

“Familiar?” Bora, not minding Handong’s hands that were on her waist, turned to the painting that was left on the floor beside them. The painting was one of Handong’s many old works, it was a painting of a nude lady. “Did you touch yourself before?”

“Yes.” Then Handong gasped softly. “No! I meant ‘no’! What the hell Bora?”

Bora smirked as she turned the chair to face the artist. “You said ‘yes’.”

Handong’s arm stretched out, beside Bora’s face, her eyes shifted between the real person that was right before her canvas, and the portrait. 

“I didn’t think you were talking about masturbating.” 

When Handong leaned in to touch up the portrait’s lips with the pencil that was still in her hand, the artist smelt a gentle sea-salt scent, though it was a little more saltier than sweet, probably from Bora’s sweat. It smelt better than it should have. 

Handong saw Bora’s gaze boring into her.

“So you’re familiar with me?” 

“Of course I am.” The artist was unflustered when she had to shift closer to the smaller girl so that the pencil could reach the canvas. “I see you everyday.”

“In that way?” Bora questioned further, side glancing the nude painting once more. “The nude way?”

“What?” 

Handong’s eyes blinked out of focus. The artist was finally aware of their physical closeness — her knees were brushing against Bora’s thighs, her other free hand was resting on Bora’s waist. Slightly flustered, Handong retracted both her hands away from Bora and the canvas. 

“Look,” Handong breathed deeply as she walked over to her old works, covering them with a huge cloak as a protective layer and a blind. “If you’re uncomfortable because of what I draw, I understand-”

“Dong Dong, you’re misunderstanding me.” The older girl shook her head. “I just wanted to know why you chose me to be the subject for your final assignment.”

Handong’s attentive eyes studied the expression on the other girl’s face for a few good seconds.

“Because I am familiar with you.” The artist muttered, not a slip of emotion was present in her voice. “As your best friend.”

“Makes sense.” Bora sighed, her careless demeanour had her disappointment on full display. 

But in the eyes of the focused artist, everything else was a hazy image, except for the beauty of her subject. 

-

“It makes no sense!” Bora whined, flinging her arms in the air before dramatically sinking onto the listener’s lap. 

Handong has got to be the smartest, most attentive, and yet the dumbest, most densest person Bora has ever met. From her straight As, to her excellence in the arts, Handong has it all. But it was not to say she was jealous of her. And thanks to Minji, Bora had realised her feelings for her best friend. 

“There, there.” Minji patted the smaller girl’s head that rested on her lap. She did not know of any better words to comfort the disappointed girl. 

Handong’s gifted factual intelligence has failed to understand the major behavioural changes of her best friend.

“I just don’t understand whatever is going on, in her mind, Minji.” Bora said in exasperation, her face was facing the ceiling, her legs dangled off the sofa in her house’s living room. “Surely she thinks of me as someone important to her, right? I mean, she chose _me_ to be her subject.”

“Right, you are definitely someone important to her.”

Bora paused to Minji a judging look. She then continued shortly after. “Handong treats her art seriously, so me being her subject has got to mean something.”

“Yes, it has got to mean something.”

“Minji, I love you, but please shut the fuck up before I kick you out of my place” The smaller girl took a deep breath and let it out. 

“Oh I will leave gladly, no need for your invitation.” Minji blew a kiss to Bora who was still on her lap. By then, her thighs were starting to turn numb. 

Shooting right up and off Minji’s lap, Bora faked a sick expression as she made her way to the island that separates the kitchen from the living room. “Gross.”

She settled on the highchair by the island. “Save your kisses for your girlfriend.”

Her words conjured a grin on Minji’s face. “Will do, tonight.” 

Bora felt herself slapping her forehead mentally. 

“Okay but I must admit, Handong is on another level of dense...” Minji scrolled through her recent messages. Then she smiled, forgetting to continue her sentence.

“Message from your grandma?” Bora replied with a cheeky expression. 

“My grandma? She passed away a few years-” Then it clicked in Minji’s mind. “Fuck off Bora, Yoohyeon’s hair is silver, not grey.”

“Still looks like a grandma.” Bora shrugged as she poured a glass of water for herself.

“You’re just jealous.” Minji watched Bora take a big gulp of water. “And thirsty for Handong.”

“Oh please, why would I be jealous over a grandma like Yoohyeon.” Bora coughed, choking on the water. 

“Whatever.” Minji rolled her eyes. “You didn’t deny the thirsty part though.”

“I wouldn’t be thirsty if Handong can just get my hint already.” Bora said as she emptied her glass.

“People like her need things spelt out for them. Confess to her, maybe.”

For an artist, Handong sure takes a lot of things Bora says on a very superficial level. 

“I can’t, Minji.” Bora whispered. “What if she doesn’t feel the same? The last thing I want is her finding another subject for her final assignment.”

“Handong’s professional, I’m sure she won’t bring personal feelings into her assignment.” Minji glanced up at the clock. “And you know how long it took me to get through Yooh, but look at where we are now.”

“I would die of embarrassment.” Bora noticed Minji’s restless eyes. “And you two got together all thanks to me.”

“You shoved Yoohyeon’s face into mine-”

“But it worked, didn’t it?”

“Should I shove Handong’s face into yours?”

Bora propped her chin onto her hand, her elbow resting on the island’s edge. “I wouldn’t mind.” Then she thought again. “But Handong gets really mad if anyone disturbs her when she’s painting. And she’s always painting.” 

“Well, you said angry Handong turns you on.” 

“God damn it, Minji, you’re not helping.” 

Minji just stared at Bora like she was the one with a screw loose. “With? Girl problem or your urges?” 

Bora bit her nails. “Both.” 

“That’s on you,” Minji doesn’t look up from her phone, her thumbs furiously typing. “I gotta go, I have plans.”

“Plans?”

Winking, Minji held the door ajar. “Granny needs a little attention.” 

Bora snorted. “Better not go too fast, grandma can’t keep up.”

“No worries, she’s hella fit. Athletic even.”

“Bed sports or the actual sports?” Bora wasn’t sure if they were on the same wavelength. “Wait, no, don’t answer that.”

Minji only laughed. “Both.” 

Too late. 

-

“Minji’s going to be late.” The silver haired sighed as she paced around Handong’s art studio. 

“Oh? Why?” Handong asked absently, the brush in her hand giving the portrait gentle strokes. 

“She got held up by…” Yoohyeon read Minji’s messages to her. “A girl problem that turned into a best friend problem.” The taller girl gasped. “She thinks I’m a problem?”

“No,” Handong deposited the soiled brush into the cup of water beside her. She watched the swirls of purple turn the water murky. “I think she meant her best friend has a girl problem and it became her problem too.” 

“Bora?” Yoohyeon tipped her head to the side. “I never knew Bora had a girl.” 

By then, the purple paint had diffused throughout the cup of water. Handong took a step back to look at the portrait as a whole. “Me neither.” 

“Aren’t you going to do anything about it?” 

Yoohyeon stared at the artist who had a frowning expression. 

“Of course I will.” Handong dipped another brush with a fine tip into a blob of lilac paint. “I just can’t get her lips right.” 

“Lips are difficult.” Yoohyeon nodded. “So what are you going to do?”

“I will touch her lips probably.”

“That soon?” But Yoohyeon didn’t judge too hard. She did kiss Minji even before they were going out, after all. 

“Yes, to understand the texture of her lips.”

“Huh?” The younger one scratched the back of her head, confused.

“You asked me if I was going to fix the lips.” Handong dabbed the paint on the canvas gently. 

Oh, Handong had misunderstood Yoohyeon’s meaning. 

“Bora’s girl problem- I was referring to you doing something about Bora’s girl problem.” 

“That’s Bora’s problem, why would I do anything about it?” The artist’s frown deepened, her gaze still on the portrait’s lips. 

Yoohyeon wondered if it was at her assignment. 

“Because,” The taller girl stood beside the canvas, her arms folded. “You’re into Bora. And Bora is into someone."

“And?”

“Aren’t you curious to know who?” 

Unlike her bright orange hair that screams for attention, the artist’s expression was blank, like an empty canvas. But like a piece of abstract art, Handong’s mind was hard to comprehend. 

Even the airheaded Yoohyeon was frustrated at the dense artist, though she did take a while to catch on, with the help of her girlfriend. 

The tip of the brush caressed the fabric of the canvas, staining it a light hue of lilac. Yoohyeon saw Handong’s mouth open, but no words came out.

Then with a flick of her wrist, Handong completed the stroke, covering the small stain. 

“Yooh babe, sorry I’m late.” A third person entered the art studio, casually giving the silver haired a quick peck on her cheek. That made the silver haired blush. 

“You’re so slow.” Yoohyeon pouted, faking a slight pout. Minji found her girlfriend’s frowning expression adorable, anyway. 

“Talk about being slow.” Minji pinched Yoohyeon’s cheek softly. 

“Hey!” Yoohyeon piped, surrendering. “At least I’m not like Handong!”

The couple turned to see the artist who was still busy with her assignment. 

“Why do I feel like I am being insulted,” Handong rested her color palette on the empty chair beside her. “Also why am I dragged into this?”

Bless Bora’s soul, Minji sighed internally.

-

Minji sneezed when a cool breeze blew past the two. 

“Bless you.” Yoohyeon linked her arm around Minji’s right arm, her hand fitting naturally in Minji’s. 

“Thanks.” Minji smiled, a little dopily. 

“Tired?” 

Minji shook her head. She was lucid enough to gather her thoughts together and she didn’t want to worry the younger one too much. 

“It’s just...Handong’s a fixer-upper but god, she’s hopeless.” 

Minji felt Yoohyeon’s hand giving hers a gentle squeeze. “Was that what you think of me?”

“Hm?” Minji turned to Yoohyeon. 

“Hopeless.”

The red haired sighed, resigned. “To be honest, yea. Sugarcoat it a little, I was willing to still keep crushing on you even if you didn’t catch on.”

Then she laughed. “Heck, you were so dense to even realise I was flirting with you, after a year. A year, Yoohyeon, a year.” 

“Just couldn’t believe Ms Popular would like me back, in that way” Yoohyeon shrugged. “You know, in the gay way.”

“I was so obvious about it, I even gave you my macaroons.”

“Still doesn’t mean you like me!”

“Please Yooh, I’m a sucker for macaroons.”

“Whatever.” Yoohyeon pouted. “Do you think Handong will ever catch on to Bora’s signals?”

“I’ve been thinking about that, actually.” Minji held the door open for Yoohyeon to enter the shop. “What if Handong knew, but she doesn’t feel the same.”

Yoohyeon hopped to the display counter, smacking her lips in delight. The silver haired has always been one track minded, unable to focus for too long. “Two vanillas, please.”

-

Sweet vanilla melted in her mouth, tingling her gastory senses. 

“Not possible.” Yoohyeon licked her fingers clean. “Handong likes Bora.”

Minji swear she heard it wrong. “She what?” 

“Handong likes Bora.”

“She likes Bora?” Minji repeated, in great disbelief. “Handong likes Bora!”

“What, you didn’t know?” Yoohyeon glanced up at Minji from under her lashes. 

“Of course not!” Minji exclaimed, her macaroon was still untouched. “How?” She looked at her airheaded girlfriend who stared out of the window, dazedly. “How did you find out?”

“Handong doesn’t say more than what is needed, and when I assumed she is into Bora, she didn’t deny or confirm it.” Yoohyeon explained. “So I suppose my assumption is true.”

“Oh my gosh, Yoohyeon! You’re a genius!” The red haired squealed, hugging her girlfriend tightly. “My girlfriend’s a genius!”

It seems, the puzzle to Handong’s mind wasn’t as complicated as what they had made it out to be. 

-

“Purse your lips together, like this.” Handong demonstrated with her own lips and Bora watched closely, mimicking what the artist had instructed her to. 

Still as a statue, Bora was careful not to breathe too deeply. 

And after a minute of staring, Handong gave Bora the signal that she could move. 

“How is it going?” Bora asked, curious. Her eyes widened in amazement when she saw the progress of Handong’s portrait of her. The sketch was already breathtaking and now, the painting was out of this world. 

Though, she didn’t understand the unsatisfied expression on Handong’s face. “What’s wrong?”

“The lips.” Handong’s brush stayed on the portrait’s lips, unmoving. 

“Looks fine to me.” Bora’s tongue peeked out to wet her lips.

Handong barely glanced up. “It’s not quite there yet.” 

“Why not?” 

“I don’t know.” Was an answer that Bora had never expected from the straight A student. With her vast knowledge and intelligence, it was rare for Handong to not know.

Bora leaned forward, inching closer towards the artist. “You don’t know?”

“How it feels.” Handong muttered. “I don’t know how your lips feel like.”

“Then feel it.”

The artist’s head jerked up, her shifty eyes were restless, but never leaving Bora’s lips. 

“I can?” She corrected herself. “No, may I?”

Bora chuckled. “Yea.” She looked down to see Handong’s paint smudged hands. “But not with your hands though. I don’t need extra shades of colour on my lips.”

Handong raised a brow. “What else can I use, if not my hands-”

Then she felt the vibration of her last word against her lips, letting the momentum of Bora’s head seal the gap between their lips. Bora’s hand reached for the back of Handong’s head, her fingers grabbing locks of orange hair, while her nails left stinging waves of pleasure on Handong’s scalp.

The artist felt it — from the tickling sensation of Bora’s lips against hers, to the wetness of the kiss, her mind had it all memorised.

Bora pulled back a few inches. It was her turn to study the details on the artist’s face. There were hints of shock, confusion, but none of what she had expected.

Without a word, the artist lifted her brush, her strokes were now urgent but confident.

And just like that, everything seemed to slip back into normalcy. Though, it hurts Bora as she let it all sink in — the warmth on her lips that contrasted with the cool air in the art studio.

-

“Handong is not normal.” Bora was close to giving up. “I’m telling you, she’s an alien.”

“Bora-”

“I literally flirt with her whenever I can, ask her if she was into girls, and I even kissed her.” Bora shook Minji by her shoulders. “I kissed her, Minji, _on the lips._ ”

Then she flung her arms up in the air. Her arms fell back down, by her sides, slumped.

“I’m practically her girlfriend now.”

“Bora,” Minji tries again, her head slightly dizzy from Bora’s shake. “I was trying to you that Handong likes you back.”

“Of course she likes me back- wait, what?” 

Minji nodded. 

“Handong actually likes me back?” The smaller girl screamed.

“Okay at least that’s what Yoohyeon told me.” Minji made it a point to mention the disclaimer. “Handong didn’t deny nor confirm the fact that she is into you.”

Bora’s delighted expression sunk into a disappointed one. “So it’s not confirmed.”

“But she didn’t deny it.”

“Fuck it all,” Bora kicked her chair. “I’m going to confess to her after her submission and if she rejects me, at least I won’t ever have to see her again.”

_This time’s for sure_ , Bora promised herself for the hundredth time that year. But this time, Bora was certain she will see it through. A migraine squeezed on her forehead. 

-

With a heave, Handong dipped the brush into the water and rested the palette on the edge of the easel. 

At long last, after months of painting, her final assignment was-

“Incomplete.” Handong shook her head. 

The painting was a masterpiece, and Bora couldn’t tell if Handong was joking, from the seriousness of her tone. 

“Why?” Bora found herself questioning this for the hundredth time, each time whenever she was around as Handong’s model. 

But each time, Handong never gave an answer. 

“Do you want me to come over again, tomorrow morning? Your submission is in the afternoon, right? You can still touch up your final assignment by then.” Bora checked the schedule on her phone, eager to help Handong to the best of her ability. 

“No.” 

For the first time, Handong lifted the canvas off its easel. She placed it carefully on top of the pile of old works, beside the window. 

“I’m not submitting it.”

“What, why?” Bora couldn’t believe what she just heard. “Then what are you going to submit?”

“It doesn’t fulfill the assignment’s requirement.”

The smaller girl felt herself get choked up, her fingers digging deep into her skirt. Bora was laughing, perhaps even crying a little, and she was mad. It was as though life was screwing her over. 

But Bora was resilient. She is the kind of tough girl that never shys down from a slight tumble and if life was screwing her over, she will screw life a hundred times over.

“Handong.” A deep breath in and exhale as she spoke the next line. “I like you.”

Gentle rays of the dusk’s light shone onto the canvas, reflecting off the lilac coat of paint. 

“More than a friend. The kind where I want to hold your golden hands along the streets and tell every passerby that you’re my girlfriend. The kind where I want to kiss you, on the lips, a hundred times over.” Bora gasped for air. “The gay kind of love.”

There was a silent pause, the calm before a storm. 

“I understand if you don’t feel the same.” Bora’s voice is quiet. “I wanted to tell you this after you submitted the portrait, but now, I don’t think you will.” She closed her eyes. “Not anymore.”

Bora’s cold palm met with something soft, something warm. 

“Bora…” There was a stutter in her words. “It’s complete.”

And the girl’s eyes fluttered open, blinking at its proximity. “It is?” She sniffed and tried to clear her face. Her eyes winced, from the slight glow reflecting off the lilac paint.

“The portrait,” Handong spoke carefully and slowly. “You’re my subject for the final assignment.” She then loosened her messy bun, letting her bright neon orange hair fall onto her shoulders. 

“The most beautiful form of love.” 

Purple is the mix of calm stability of blue and the fierce energy of red, while orange is vibrant and flamboyant. But complementary hues of purple and orange had found themselves blending into one, that day. 

“I love you too, Bora.”

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> [My Twitter](https://twitter.com/softyooh)  
> feel free to hmu :D


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